Supporting the Ninth Amendment

Medicine

People die from measles. People in the United States die from measles. People in the United States have died from measles in the last ten years.

There are a vast number of posts on social media that claim that there have been no death in the United States from measles since… Sometimes it says ten years, sometimes 2004 and sometimes the claim is for another recent period. All of those claims are false.

The outbreak of measles in January, 2015, has resulted in a series of myths about the measles vaccine being spread through social media. One of them is depicted in the image. The accusation is that the measles vaccine, in whatever formulation, causes patient deaths.

As of January 30, 2015, the number of measles cases in the United States continues to grow. So do the myths about the illness and the vaccine that prevents it. Let’s take a look at some of the most widespread on Twitter and Facebook.

This is the latest data on the outbreaks of measles in the United States in 2015. The illnesses tied to Disneyland are noted separately. Data is unofficial.

Because the count is from mid-December, 2014, to 2015, the assignment of some cases to a calendar year is in flux. In addition, we are confirming, with some difficulty, which states will be assigned which cases. The Mitchell, ND outbreak is an example. It consists of 13 cases over both years with at least three recorded in a state other than North Dakota.